The federal government has ruled out funding for a high-speed rail link in the Windsor-Quebec corridor.

Transport Minister Denis Lebel told the Windsor Star in an email Tuesday that the project is not on the government’s radar. “In these fiscal circumstances, a new project of this scope is not a priority for our government,” Lebel said.

A study released Tuesday said it would cost between $18.9-billion and $21.3-billion to build high-speed rail service in the Windsor-Quebec corridor, including Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty also suggested Tuesday that it’s a bad time to build a high-speed rail system. McGuinty said the Ontario government is already investing about $35-billion over the next three years in transportation projects.

Until recently, McGuinty was an unabashed proponent, calling the rail link a “game-changer” and boasting, in 2010, that “when we build this line here,” it would connect “16-million Canadians together, strengthening our regional economy, better protecting our regional environment.

“It’s going to plug us into a North American network of high-speed rail.”

On Tuesday he said “the world has changed, and at this point in time I think the responsible thing would be to sit down with (Quebec) Premier (Jean) Charest and Prime Minister (Stephen) Harper, and given our fiscal context, given that we’ve entered into a period of slower growth, given our commitment already to invest some $35-billion in capital over the course of the next three years, I think it’s time for us to pause and reflect on the merits of starting that kind of a project at this point in time.”

The study, which was leaked in late October, found that a line running along the Windsor-Quebec City corridor wouldn’t be profitable. However a Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto line at a cost of either $9.1-billion or $11-billion — depending on if it ran at 200 kilometres per hour or 300 km/h — would be lucrative.

The $9.1-billion cost would build a line that would accommodate diesel trains, while the more expensive line would run faster electric trains.

A longer track linking Windsor to Quebec City could be built at a cost of between $18.9 and $21.3-billion with heavy government financing and “no financial return on investment,” according to the feasibility report, which was conducted by EcoTrain, a collaboration of international firms like Dessau, KPMG and Deutsche Bahn International, among others.

The study also took into consideration the environment, public safety and disruptions to existing rail services.

Meanwhile, Charest has said Canada should invest in a high-speed train considering the United States is set to build a dozen high-speed corridors in the coming years.